“You Got Fat After High School”

Psalm 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

I was a junior in high school and I overheard someone at the table next to me say, “She got big after she graduated.” I knew who they were talking about and I didn’t notice weight gain in that person at all. I soon became a senior and I could overhear some girls talking about a friend of mine who was a senior that year before. Wanna guess what they said? Yep, they talked about how she gained weight after high school. Once I finally graduated, I started to see changes in my body. I went from a size two to a size seven pretty fast. I was paranoid. How many people looked through Instagram saying those haunting words, “Wow, Amber got bigger after high school.” 

My self-esteem depleted. For hours I would look at the skinny girls on Instagram who had the “perfect” stomachs and the thigh gaps. I hated myself. My worth was in the way I looked and how people saw me. I didn’t want to be the girl who got “fat” after high school.

One day at work, I told a  co-worker/friend how much I wanted a flatter stomach because I hated mine so much. Her reply was, “There isn’t a certain way stomachs have to look.” 

I was floored. She was right! There really isn’t a fixed way we are supposed to look whether that be stomachs, legs, face, hair…whatever! We aren’t supposed to be cookie cutter people. So what does the Bible say about our appearance? A lot actually…

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel tells us that we shouldn’t even look at outward appearances because they aren’t as important as our hearts. 

Proverbs 31:30

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs backs 1 Samuel up by saying that charm and beauty can be deceiving, but when someone loves the Lord and follows them, that’s whats really important. 

1 Peter 3:3-4

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

1 Peter emphasizes the importance of our heart compared to the way we look and dress ourselves. 

1 Timothy 4:8

Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.

The Bible even says that exercise is important (something I need to do more of) but not as important as working on our hearts and relationship with Christ. 

So don’t let the world make you think you aren’t good enough because of the way you look. Start investing your time in the way your heart looks to God. Our bodies will wither and turn back to dust, but its our investment in Christ that will last for eternity.

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